


Playlist of the Year

by devils_church



Series: Playlist of the Year [2]
Category: Ghost (Swedish Band)
Genre: But it’s not bad, Gay, High School AU, Kissing, Linton is an art nerd, Linton is trying to graduate, M/M, Martin shows up at the end, Tension, Tobias and Linton dance a lot, Tobias is an asshole, Tobias is popular, its like a weird high school musical thing, lots of songs, no masks sorry, they have sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 05:19:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13780551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devils_church/pseuds/devils_church
Summary: Linton returns to his old school for his final year of school. The nerdy kid from before he left, Tobias, isn't so nerdy anymore. Their last year of school is nearly as wild as the relationship they build.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry that they’re unmasked, but it’ll be interesting. Trust me. Enjoy, and listen to the songs that are the titles of the chapters if you want. It’ll make it better!

# Playlist of the Year

## Chapter 1: Wannabe

Linton swore to himself that he would never come back to his old school, but here he was. Walking through the doors halfway into his last year of upper secondary education. Unexpectedly, his plans had been changed and he couldn't attend the art school that he had been at for three years. Apparently they were corrupt and were taking money from teachers and parents, which lead to the school being shut down.

Despite his begging, his parents sent him to his old school. Homeschooling seemed to be a decent option for him, but they wanted him to experience graduation at an actual school. They argued about it for days, but in the end Linton was silenced and thrust back into the grueling schedule that haunted him throughout lower secondary school.

Waking up at six for Linton was like waking up at two in the morning and heading into work. He wasn't a morning person by any means. That's why he liked his old school so much. They didn't start until nine, which meant he could sleep until eight. By then, he was refreshed and ready to start the day.

Linton wasn't about to start the day refreshed his first day back.

"Linton!" Simon yelled from halfway across the cafeteria.

He had been attempting to lay low, but one of his old friends was too excited to do that. Of course he hadn't told any of them about his return. He hoped that they had forgotten him, though that wasn't the case.

Simon ran over to him and embraced him in a tight hug, one that earned a quiet squeak from the smaller male. Simon had... grown. He was a good few inches taller than the other and he had more muscle than Linton ever would. They had known since they were children that Simon would bulk up and become an athlete of some sort. Based on the hockey sweatshirt he was wearing, Linton's previous assumptions had become a reality.

When the hug broke, Linton took a breath in and looked up at Simon, who was beaming like a kid in the candy store.

He wished he could've been as excited as him.

"How are you?! I didn't know you were coming back!" Simon said enthusiastically, "I have to show you around, come on. I'll introduce you to some of my new friends."

That stung a bit, but Linton followed him nonetheless. At least Simon was still nice. He was afraid that upper secondary would corrupt him, but Simon was just as corny as he was when Linton left.

Simon lead Linton through the cafeteria and guided him to the table crowded with other hockey players. Linton felt intimidated. He was a small thing and these men... were not small. They could easily beat him to a pulp if he were to ever wrong them in some way. Gripping the straps of his backpack, his gaze flickered between the other men and Simon as Simon spoke.

"Guys, this is Linton. He used to go here back in lower secondary school. He's back to finish the year!"

A couple of them remembered Linton, but a few didn't. That was understandable. Linton never had many friends to begin with and tended to keep to himself all throughout his childhood. He was trying to do that now, but Simon was sabotaging that plan already.

"You play sports, man?" One of the athletes asked him.

_'Does it look like I even move from my bed?'_

"I... Uh, no, I paint actually," Linton said as boldly as he could. He knew that sports would go over well with this group of people, but he couldn't even pretend like he knew about sports. Sure, his father talked about sports every now and then, but he didn't understand what was going on. It seemed pointless and stupid to him. "But my dad seems to enjoy handball sometimes..?"

That earned a couple laughs, but Linton wasn't sure whether to feel threatened or not. To roll with it, he laughed with them and cracked a nervous smile for the first time that day.

"There's some art classes here," one of them told him, "The teacher is a babe."

"Dude, he's right," Simon said as he nudged Linton's arm. Linton looked up at him with his eyebrows arched and gave him an unsure look. Simon didn't notice it. "Miss Nilsson is smoking hot. I can't even focus half the time I'm in there."

Linton wanted to out himself, but he couldn't. He remembered this school being less than accepting towards gay people and he wasn't about to get the shit kicked out of him yet. That could wait at least a couple weeks.

"I guess I'll have fun," Linton said softly with a forced smile. He didn't like hiding his sexuality, but he had to at that point in time. "What time does class start? I need some breakfast."

"Oh, you've got time," Simon told him, "Breakfast line is right over there. I think they've got smörgås this morning."

That was the only thing about this school that interested him. After he thanked Simon and bid his group of friends goodbye, he went off towards the breakfast line. At least he would be getting a tasty snack. Could he substitute breakfast for all of his classes?

Linton didn't know why he was complaining about his classes. He didn't even have that many. All he had was AP calculus, gym, and two art classes. At his old school, he doubled up classes for extra credit and to try and graduate early. The latter didn't work out, but at least his last year of school would go by smoothly when it came to academics. One less weight on his shoulders.

As Linton stood in line and listened to music through his headphones, someone came up behind him. As a natural reaction, Linton looked up and glanced at who it was.

_'Is that...? What the fuck?'_

Linton didn't want to seem like a stalker, so he looked down at his CD player and changed the song. That was a mistake, however, seeing as Wannabe by The Spice Girls came on.

Quickly shoving his CD player into its holster, he shot his head up and cleared his throat. Hopefully the person next to him didn't hear who he was listening to.

Through the sound of the song, he heard a muffled voice. At first he thought it was his headphones acting up, but when he brought his head up, he realized that the person next to him was talking.

Yanking his headphones off, he turned to the person he thought he recognized and blinked cluelessly. "Excuse me, what was that? I couldn't hear–"

"Are. You. New," the other said in slow increments as if Linton didn't understand what he was saying.

This can't be him. He wasn't mean back then.

"Well... not really. I went here before," Linton told him politely, "Why?"

"Is your name Lint something?"

"Yeah, it is. It's Linton." Glancing him up and down, Linton felt a blush creep onto his cheeks despite how hard he was attempting to fight it. "Are you... Is your name Tobias?"

"Yeah," he responded shortly.

_...If you want my future, forget my past..._

He wasn't looking for a conversation with someone like Linton. Linton didn't belong in his crowd and he didn't belong anywhere near him. "Let me tell you something, kid–"

"I- I'm pretty sure we're both in our last year of school–"

"Shut it," Tobias hissed at him. Linton complied with a nod and the other went on, "People like you don't talk to people like me, you got that?"

_...If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends..._

Linton nodded again in silence. He was in shock and intimidated. Shocked because Tobias had went from a goofy looking kid to someone who could smirk and bring people to their knees because of it, and intimidated because Tobias was suddenly popular and threatening to kick Linton's ass if he even thought about giving him a second glance.

Tobias was an asshole now and Linton was realizing that, but that didn't stop him from looking him up and down again.

"Stop fucking looking at me like that," Tobias spat at him. That was one of the only things he said that actually got in Linton's head. Everything else went through one ear and out the other. "Earn some fucking reputation before you even _try _to look at me like that again, got it? You aren't shit, new kid. It took me years to get to the top of the food chain here and I'm not gonna lose my spot because of some Q-tip looking fuck like you."__

____

Linton nodded shakily and backed up. Alright, so Tobias was a fucking asshole. Got it. Linton would be avoiding him however he could.

____

_...If you really bug me, then I'll say goodbye..._

____

He got a head start on that and put his headphones back on as he turned around and faced ahead of him rather than looking at Tobias. Maybe if he avoided Tobias, he'd be fine. Then that asshole wouldn't want to make his life a living hell.

____

Tobias smirked to himself then looked past Linton to the front of the line. Watching people fall and crumble down beneath him was something he enjoyed watching. Even though he felt a pang of guilt come along with it, he could distract himself later.

____

He was doing what he had to do to make sure that he stayed the most respected student in the class. Talking to Linton wouldn't help him out. From then on, he swore himself to not speak to the Linton he knew back in lower secondary school again unless absolutely necessary.

____

Lower secondary school had come and gone, and so had Tobias's tolerance for anyone who threatened his reputation. He just hoped Linton realized that.

____


	2. Come and Get Your Love

Much to their dismay, Linton was sat next to Tobias in their AP calculus class. Linton didn't look at him or speak to him for days. He remembered what Tobias said and he wasn't about to test his luck. Like Simon, Tobias was taller than him by a few inches. Linton didn't want to get pummeled by him.

Tobias would sneak glances at Linton every so often. He couldn't help it. The guy sat right next to him. It wasn't his fault that sometimes when he turned to crack his neck or back that his eyes would fall on the other.

They both surprised each other without meaning to. Tobias was smarter than Linton had originally thought and Linton was able to do problems quickly without messing up. Of course they didn't tell the other that they were impressed by their intelligence, but they both thought about it. They couldn't ignore something like that.

Linton had been at school for a week and hadn't made many friends. He wasn't trying to. This was his final year of school. He'd be out of there before he knew it. There was no point in making friends that he'd be losing to the real world once summer came around. He did what he did best, which was keep to himself and stay silent to focus on his art and schoolwork.

It was obvious that Tobias was the complete opposite. He would barge into class with a new group of people following him each day. Like Linton expected, the teachers kissed his ass and practically worshipped him so they didn't care if those people stayed during the class. Linton found it distracting, but he didn't comment on it. He didn't want to get on anyone's bad side.

One day when he stood up to ask the teacher a question, Tobias decided to lean over and scribble over Linton's worksheet with a pen. He was jealous of him. Linton was understanding the new unit better than anyone and he was stealing Tobias's spotlight. Usually he was the one to master everything first and Linton was fucking that up. That couldn't happen. Once he was finished with making a mess of the other's paper, he leaned back in his seat and continued working on the problems before him.

Linton didn't know what had happened, but when he sat down and looked down at his paper, he instantly knew that it was Tobias's doing. On top of that, Tobias didn't have a good poker face. He was smirking to himself while working out a problem on a separate sheet of paper.

"Why did you mark up my paper?" Linton asked as calmly as he could. That was the first thing he had said to Tobias since the breakfast line incident. "Is that... Did you do it in pen?" He looked down at the utensil Tobias was holding and he felt his blood pressure spike. That little shit had destroyed his paper and Linton couldn't even erase it. "Why the hell did you do this?"

"What do you mean?" Tobias asked innocently.

"You know what I mean," Linton said harshly, "Why did you do it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, now will you _shut up_?" Tobias snapped at him.

Linton glared at him, but didn't say anything. No fighting. He couldn't get into a fight. He had to remain calm despite the fact that Tobias had just royally fucked up his homework.

Tobias was smirking again and stifling a laugh. He found it funny that Linton was so pissed at him. The way that his face would turn light red and how he'd clench his small hands into fists was hysterical. Tobias couldn't help but look over at him every now and then because of how upset Linton was.

Of course he felt bad, but he wasn't going to admit that to himself. He never did anything like that.

—

After about a week of Tobias continuously fucking up Linton's papers, Linton decided to get him back. He couldn't keep letting it happen, mostly because Tobias had started using highlighters instead of pens which made everything bleed through and made what he had wrote down hard to read. In fact, he had to redo a few assignments because of Tobias. He wasn't having it anymore. He needed payback.

He waited until Tobias was using the restroom to put his plan into action. Like the clean freak he was, he carried a few small bottles of hand sanitizer with him in his backpack. They were obviously meant to kill germs and to keep his hands clean, but he had another use for them now.

They were going to be used to get revenge on Tobias.

Glancing over his shoulder to check the door, he snickered once he saw that the coast was clear. Now was his time.

"Oh no, what a shame it would be if I just..." Flipping open the cap of his hand sanitizer, he turned it upside down and began pouring it all over Tobias's papers. Tobias had destroyed a whole pile of his papers, now Linton was giving him a taste of his own medicine. It's what he deserved after all. "Maybe this will clean up his shitty attitude."

He used the majority of the bottle on Tobias's papers and once he was done, he slipped it back into his backpack and resumed working on his homework. Tobias was bound to walk in at any given moment and Linton was ready to see his reaction. Although he was scared that Tobias would deck him in the face, this was worth it. Maybe Tobias would stop messing with him now that Linton showed that he could fight back and defend himself when need be.

Tobias had no idea what Linton had done. When he walked back into the room, he stared at him and fought back the smirk that wanted to show itself. For some reason, he tended to smirk every now and then when he caught a glimpse of the other student. He didn't know why, but he wasn't about to dive into his feelings to try and find out.

The urge to smirk quickly washed away when he sat down and realized that his papers were soaked with hand sanitizer. He deadpanned as he looked over his sheets of notes and homework, his heart stopping for a moment.

That little shit.

Instead of saying anything right away, Tobias tried to clean off his papers once he had retrieved the trashcan and positioned it by his desk. He used a pencil of his to scrap off any sanitizer he could before he realized that some papers were damaged beyond repair. Reluctantly, he threw them away and tried to remember the rest by rereading what was on them before the ink could get completely ruined.

He knew that Linton had done this. Who else would? Nobody dared to mess with him because they were too afraid to. It seemed like Linton wasn't, though.

"You're dead," Tobias said to Linton as he looked over at him.

Linton brought his head up and shrugged, forcing himself not to roll his eyes. "Okay. Cool."

Tobias was taken back by his response. That's all he had to say? He had just threatened him and Linton wasn't even scared?

What the fuck?

"I mean it," Tobias said gruffly, "Do that again and I'll beat the fuck out of you."

"Okay. Cool."

"You just said that."

Linton shrugged again and turned his attention back to what he was working on.

Tobias was pissed. Nobody did shit like that to him and got away with it. Except now that Linton had done something to him and was getting away with it. This guy was testing Tobias's nerves and he wanted to lean over and sock him, but he couldn't. The teacher wouldn't appreciate that and Tobias didn't want to be expelled.

Deciding on remaining calm, Tobias wiped down his desk with his sweatshirt then got out new papers to try and write down his notes again. That time, Linton looked over at him and smirked.

He had won this round.

—

The pen and hand sanitizer feud went on for a solid week and a half before it stopped one day. It only stopped because one half of the competition wasn't there.

Tobias came to class alone that day with headphones on and sat down at his desk. He didn't look over since he was too busy fixing the wire for his CD player to really pay attention to his surroundings.

With a groan, Tobias paused his music and ripped his headphones off. His eyes focused on the board in front of him for a moment before he turned to look over at Linton and–

Wait.

Linton wasn't there.

Tobias froze momentarily then glanced at the clock. The bell would be ringing any second now and Linton still wasn't there. Linton came to school every single day, but he was nowhere to be found that day.

Shamefully, Tobias felt a little lonely. What was he going to do during class now? He dedicated so much time into making Linton's life hell by fucking up his papers and now Linton wasn't even there. He felt bored and out of place suddenly.

"Where's Linton?" He asked the teacher.

"Absent," he told him, "Why?"

Tobias didn't want to say that he felt lonely, so he lied and said, "Nothing, we just share notes.”

The teacher nodded and went about with the beginning of class. Tobias tried to focus, but he couldn't. There was an empty chair at the desk next to his and Linton was supposed to be there. He wasn't supposed to be gone. He couldn't just leave Tobias alone like that after everything that they had done to each other in that class.

Sitting back, Tobias forced himself to tune into what was happening and rested his right cheek on his right fist to try and stop himself from looking over at where Linton usually was.  He didn't know why something in him wanted the other's presence, but he wasn't going to confront it.

—

The next day, Linton was back and in class before Tobias could get there. He hadn't been feeling well and while he still wasn't feeling his best, he forced himself to go to school. He couldn't miss more than a day of AP calculus unless he wanted to fuck himself and his GPA over.

When Tobias walked in with his entourage following him, he stopped in the doorway and looked at Linton who was sniffling softly. He had a water bottle with him for once and on the cap were his initials.

"Why'd you stop? Come on, the bell's about to ring," one of the girls following him said.

"Go to class," he demanded them, "I'll see you guys at lunch."

The group wasn't about to argue with him. Though his behavior was unlike him, they did as he asked and rushed to their classes.

Tobias walked over and sat down beside Linton who had a single side of his headphones over his ear so he could listen to Come and Get Your Love. That was the ear that wasn't near Tobias. For some reason, the taller man liked that small gesture of keeping an open ear for him.

"Where were you?" Tobias asked sternly.

Linton looked over at him with a sniffle and shrugged. "Home."

"What's wrong? What's the matter, I mean?"

_...What's the matter with your head?.._

"I'm sick," Linton told him, "I think that's pretty obvious."

Tobias looked over him and frowned faintly. He wasn't sad. He just felt bad for Linton for some god forsaken reason.

"I'm sorry," Tobias said.

"I feel like trash and I look it, too," Linton scoffed, "I should've stay home."

_...You're fine, and you're mine, and you look so divine..._

"You look fine," Tobias protested. He didn't know why he was trying to lift Linton's spirits, but he couldn't help it. Something in him wanted Linton to feel decent.

Linton scoffed a second time. "Thanks... I think. But I really should've stayed home."

"No. You should stay here." Tobias cleared his throat and shrugged, tearing his eyes away from Linton. "Just because of school and this class. But I don't care what you do."

His answer was lame, but he wasn't going to tell Linton that he felt lonely without him. He wanted him to stay. At least he had something to do and someone to look at whenever class got boring and he couldn't bring himself to listen to their teacher go on and on about math.

_...Come and get your love..._

Linton raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything. Tobias was acting weird, but he was being nice for once so he wasn't going to question him on it. Instead, he nodded silently in agreement and grabbed his water to take a drink from it.

He felt like shit, but Tobias wanted him to stay. He also knew that he needed to.

He didn't need Tobias to tell him what to do. He could make decisions for himself. But it was nice to have someone care about him a little bit.


	3. I Want To Know What Love Is

# Playlist of the Year

"Did you hear what she said in the hall? She said she's gonna fuck one of her mom's friends once he gets divorced."

"Everyone knows she likes older men! She hits on the history teacher all the time!"

"And he flirts back."

"Because he's weird and creepy. I swear she blew him just to pass that class."

"She's got lips bigger than her face, what do you expect?"

Tobias was sitting at the circular lunch table amongst his friends and minding his business for once. Usually he got in on teasing people, but today he didn't want to. Something about it was making him agitated and he wanted to tell them all to shut up. That would definitely make them think that something was up with Tobias, though, and he wasn't about to ruin his own reputation.

He could sit through it. He could do this. It's not like this was anything new. They did this almost every day of the week. Nothing would change. They'd always be low lives who broke others down to make then feel better about themselves.

Tobias was one of them, but that day he didn't want to be.

For once, he was thinking about how other people felt. He knew that it would hurt him to know that other people were talking smack about him behind his back, so he put himself in their shoes for a moment. It was a given that they made fun of everyone who wasn't as popular as them and everyone knew that. That's why they avoided them at all costs. Sure, there were a few who tried to work their way up to their level, but they never got far. Tobias's friends always tore them down or spread rumors about them before they even had a chance to become friends with them.

It was entertaining to him for the longest time, but suddenly it wasn't. It just pissed him off. He knew it wasn't right. He knew that they were pieces of shit and he knew that he was, too. A part of him wanted to break that shell, but he knew that he couldn't. Besides, his last year of school was almost over and there wasn't any point in destroying everything he had worked for.

Honestly, Tobias scammed his way to the top. He would go to parties and sleep with girls that he didn't even care for. Once word got around that he was a good fuck and that he could make both people cum, he started climbing up the ladder with his mouth and his dick. That was one way to do it. He wasn't proud of himself, but he was sick of being picked on. He had to change that and sleeping his way to the top was the only way to do that.

His old friends didn't even look at him anymore. They were afraid to. They knew that Tobias's friends would attack them if they were to even glance at him and they weren't about to risk their lives to do something like that. Most of them didn't want to speak to him ever again anyway. Tobias had turned his back on them and made fun of them once he became more popular. He spilled their secrets just to make himself seem cool and reliable which in all actuality, he was just an asshole.

"She's gained weight, right? I can't be the only one who noticed."

"I heard her mom lost her job. Maybe she's eating now so she won't starve later."

"It's a shame. My mom would never lose her job. I guess that's what it like to be middle class."

Tobias couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed his headphones and shoved them over his ears just to drown out the sound of his so called friends talking. Most of them were rich, but Tobias wasn't. He lived in a lower middle class neighborhood and they knew it. They didn't make fun of Tobias for it, but they deemed it okay to make fun of other kids who lived around him.

Tobias wasn't having any of that.

His CD that day was a mix of rock music and Euro pop. None of his friends really cared for his taste in music, but they didn't comment on it. Tobias was practically their leader. Whatever he did was alright. If he listened to musicals then they'd try to listen to them, too. It's like he was the leader of a cult. Everything he tried, everyone else around him tried, too. Music was his only escape from them and he was thankful for that.

He didn't mind when 'I Want To Know What Love Is' came on. He enjoyed listening to Foreigner. He had posters of them on his walls, alongside ones of Kiss and ABBA. Music from the eighties and nineties was his weakness.

As he focused on the music, he stared forward while nipping at the burrito he had packed for lunch. He was listening to their lyrics and sighing as he processed them, realizing that he was lonelier than he thought and that the life he had made wasn't all that.

All he had done was lose his faithful friends and become a dick.

_...Can't stop now, I've traveled so far to change this lonely life..._

As the song went on, Linton walked into the cafeteria and went to the table that he usually sat at with Simon. Most of Simon's friends were gone that day for an assembly regarding rugby, so Tobias was able to get a good look at Linton.

The problem was that he couldn't look away.

He was sitting at the table, surrounded by people talking shit about others, while his gaze was focused on Linton who was a few tables away. He was completely out in the open and anyone could see that he was staring at Linton and that he had stopped eating.

_...I've got nowhere left to hide, it looks like love has finally found me..._

For some reason, Tobias's heart rate had sped up as he watched Linton joke with Simon and smile. He was so disgusting, but he wasn't disgusting at all. Tobias was just trying to make it seem like he was so he'd stop staring at him like some kind of stalker. No matter what, though, he couldn't bring himself to look away.

Even as Linton caught Tobias's gaze and stared back at him.

_...I want to know what love is..._

Tobias's heart stopped and he tensed up as Linton's cheeks went red from the eye contact that they were holding.

_...I want you to show me..._

Linton's chest tightened a bit as he nipped at the inside of his lower lip. He didn't even know that Tobias could see him where he sat, but there he was. Looking at Linton with a dazed look in his eyes... and a burrito in his hands.

_...I want to feel what love is..._

Tobias managed to crack a small smile when Linton did. Linton was smiling because he thought it was funny that Tobias was holding a burrito, but Tobias was smiling because Linton was. That was unlike him, but he didn't mind.

_...I know you can show me..._

Just as Tobias was about to get up to go over to Linton, a friend of his grabbed his CD player and paused the music with a scoff. Tobias let his eyes linger on Linton for a moment longer before he broke the intense gaze to look at his friend with a scowl.

"What the fuck, dude?" Tobias said.

"Why are you listening to this bullshit? This song is so stupid," his friend said through a laugh.

Tobias yanked his CD player back with a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes. "Fuck off. I zoned out, I didn't even know it was on. Don't touch my shit."

His tone was harsh and clear, and it commanded silence at the table. That's what he got. All eyes at the table were on him, but he didn't care. What he did was turn his music back on and continue eating his burrito just to get lunch over and done with.

He didn't know what he was doing staring at Linton like that, but he felt something. He hated it. He hated having feelings.

Not that he had feelings for Linton specifically. He just had feelings in general and he hated them.

Changing the song with a soft growl, Tobias rolled his eyes to himself and kept quiet the rest of lunch, all while avoiding Linton's gaze.


	4. I Wanna Dance With Somebody

# Playlist of the Year

Linton hated gym class. He thought it was stupid and a waste of his time. He wanted to opt out of it, but his parents decided that it would be good for him to get some sort of exercise since all he ever did at home was paint, play bass, and sleep. Linton despised this particular choice of theirs, but went through with it nonetheless. At least it was something to do.

Tobias was in this class with him, but they didn't speak much during it. They had been put into groups and they weren't in the same group. Linton was thankful for that. He was out of shape and Tobias wasn't. He didn't want Tobias to see him panting like a dog after running for just one minute. That would be embarrassing.

Unlike Linton, Tobias liked gym class. He liked having an excuse to be rowdy during school.

When they did their basketball unit, Tobias reigned supreme. Even though he wasn't the tallest or the faster, he was able to make baskets easily. They wanted him to be on the basketball team, but he declined and said that he would stick to his academics. He didn't need to be distracted by the weight of sports while finish his final year of school.

Sports came naturally to Tobias. It seemed like everything did. According to Simon, Tobias could sing and always outperformed everyone at the talent show. Sadly, the talent show had happened before Linton showed up. He was itching to watch Tobias perform, but he wasn't going to ask him to. That would be weird.

After their prolonged eye contact in the cafeteria a week prior, they were a little awkward around one another. Both of them sensed something bubbling between them and they didn't want to address it. Tobias ignored it for the sake of his reputation and Linton ignored it just to avoid getting beat up for being gay.

Ignoring whatever they had seemed to be the best option.

That was until their gym teacher screwed that up.

" _He's_ my partner?" Tobias asked as he pointed over to Linton, who was standing beside him.

"I'm sorry, I got the names mixed up. You two will be fine, though," their gym teacher said.

"I have to dance with him? With _him_ , this guy?" Linton asked in disbelief while motioning towards Tobias.

Tobias was a little hurt. Linton didn't want to work with him. He didn't know why that was, but he was trying to push it down.

"Yes! It'll be fun, boys, don't worry!" She said with a small laugh, "Just think. Later on in life, you can laugh about this when you're dancing with your bride at your wedding. It'll be worth it!"

Linton scoffed and turned around to walk away. Tobias was short to follow.

Linton didn't know how to dance, but Tobias did. He had taken a few dance classes just to do something. He never told anyone that because he knew that that would make people think less of him, but it was something that he could do fairly well.

"Hey," Tobias said suddenly as he grabbed Linton's arm. Linton stopped walking and faced Tobias, his cheeks already red even though they hadn't even done anything yet. Tobias stopped himself staring for too long and quickly let go of his arm. "Calm down. This won't be that bad."

"Says you," Linton spat out, "You're good at everything and you're popular. If you suck at this, no one will care. If I suck at this, I'll get picked on behind my back. But I guess you don't know what that feels like."

Guilt slammed into Tobias and rendered him speechless for a moment. He didn't know that Linton felt that way, but now that he did, he felt bad. His friends had made fun of him before, but Tobias didn't join in. During those times was when he put in his earbuds and ignored them as best as he could without raising suspicions.

"You know what? We're gonna do this," Tobias said boldly, "And we're gonna dance everyone's pants off. You got that? We're gonna be better than anyone in this class." Linton scoffed and looked away, only for Tobias to grab his jaw and make them face one another. Again, Linton went red. "Listen to me. I mean it. We're gonna be good at this."

Linton couldn't exactly protest. He was shocked that Tobias was handling him and the situation this way, and he was blushing like crazy because of it. Since he couldn't bring himself to speak, he nodded and swallowed thickly, watching as Tobias's eyes flickered down to his throat.

' _Shit_ ,' Linton thought to himself, ' _what the fuck_?'

Letting go of the other as the whistle blew, Tobias sighed and nodded to himself. They needed to test out how they'd move together first. That's what the class was dedicated to that day.

"Give me your right hand and put the other one on my shoulder, alright?" Tobias said to him.

"Are you sure?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm sure. Now, come on."

Linton did what he was told and grabbed Tobias's hand while the other one settled on his shoulder. Tobias took the next step and closed some of the space between them as he grasped Linton's hand securely and rested his other hand on Linton's back. They were close and Linton was blushing still, which caused a small smile to twitch at the corners of Tobias's lips.

_'Why am I smiling?'_

Soon enough, the music began. It was a calming, classical song that they could ballroom dance to. A few students chuckled as they attempted to move, but Linton and Tobias stayed quiet as they did so.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Linton said through a mumble to Tobias. His eyes were glued to their feet. He didn't want to look away because he was afraid that he'd step on the other's toes, which would be embarrassing. "I– I can't dance."

"You're doing fine," Tobias told him through a chuckle. They were moving in a box shape and Tobias was keeping his eyes where they were supposed to be, which was in front of him. Before they were assigned partners, they watched videos of people dancing and took notes on it, but this was their first time actually doing it with one another. "Do you want to speed up?"

"No, no, no, please," Linton said nervously as he shook his head.

Without realizing it, he had started gripping Tobias's hand tighter and was squeezing it. Now it was Tobias's turn to blush. He glanced at their hands and inhaled sharply, tearing his gaze away from it so he wouldn't be too caught up in how much Linton depended on him.

"Bring your head up," Tobias told him, "Stop looking at our feet."

"Are you sure, what if I step on–"

"Linton," Tobias said firmly, "Head up."

The dominance in his voice got through to Linton and he brought his head up right away. His heart started racing once he realized how close they were and he cleared his throat while he looked around Tobias's face.

They were so close. He could almost feel Tobias breathing on his skin and he could see the small specks of green in his hazel eyes. He got lost in them. This was better than looking at their feet, but he was still nervous. Tobias noticed that subconsciously and slowed them down a little more.

Having Linton so close was making him breathe harder. This moment was intimate yet innocent and his heart was skipping a few beats every now and then because of how personal they were being physically. Tobias had never done something like this while feeling things of this nature. He was intimidated by it, but kept going nonetheless.

Linton's blue eyes were captivating. Tobias had never seen eyes like his and he couldn't help but stare at them and study them. He didn't even realize how intensely they were staring at one another until he inhaled sharply after forgetting to breathe for a moment.

While doing nothing, Linton had made him breathless.

The two were dancing in time in the gymnasium while surrounded by other students, but they felt like they were alone. All of Linton's anxiety regarding the situation had vanished and he was completely focused on Tobias and nothing else. Tobias nearly found himself wanting to move closer to Linton, but before he could the song stopped suddenly and another song came on.

"Plot twist! Dance to this!" Their gym teacher announced.

Both of them recognized the song right away and they stopped in their positions as their eyes went wide.

"Fuck."

"I can't believe this shit."

"What are we gonna do? We can't fucking ballroom dance to Whitney Houston," Linton said worriedly, but with a laugh.

Tobias didn't want to admit it to Linton, but he had danced to this song before. Back when he took dance lessons, this was one of the songs that he had a routine to. Naturally, Linton wasn't a gymnast like Tobias's partner had been, so they had to dumb it down.

"Follow my lead," Tobias said.

"Wait, what?"

"Follow my lead!"

Before Linton could protest, Tobias dropped one hand to Linton's waist then motioned for him to do the same. Once he had, he smirked at him with a nod before moving them in the box shape that they had been moving in before, but faster.

_...Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade..._

Linton shot Tobias a surprised look, but it was mostly directed at himself. He didn't know that he could dance this fast without screwing it up. Tobias turned them around so Linton was where he was standing then backed them up before turning them around yet again, earning a startled gasp from Linton as he fumbled to get the footwork right.

"Ready? This is the chorus," Tobias informed him.

"I know, I just–"

Before he could say anything, Tobias was leaning Linton back and holding him in his arms. Linton gasped again and clung to the other for dear life, only to be guided upwards then backwards once he was on his feet. To say that Tobias knew what he was doing sounded crazy to someone who wasn't in the class, but to everyone else it was the truth.

He was turning him and Linton around and dipping the other every so often as if he was born to dance to the song. Linton was beginning to get the hang of it, but he was running short of breath. Thankfully, when the verse came again, Tobias slowed down.

Their eyes met again and Linton immediately smiled. They were ballroom dancing throughout the verse again. His chest was heaving with each breath he took and Tobias was grinning back at him. That only made his heart beat faster.

_...I need a man who'll take a chance on a love that burns hot enough to last..._

Tobias blushed from that specific line, but kept them moving. He needed to distract himself.

That's why he kept dancing with Linton like his life depended on it.

The music seemed to echo off the walls and the wooden floor, and Linton could feel it rattling his bones. If he didn't have Tobias, he would've collapsed. He knew that he wouldn't be able to dance like this with anyone else.

_...I wanna feel the heat with somebody..._

A sweat was breaking out on Linton's forehead from how close he was to Tobias and from how vigorous this dance was. Tobias was beginning to sweat a bit too, but he didn't mind. That was only natural at this point.

They didn't realize that the majority of the class had stopped to watch them because they were too caught up in what they were doing. They were owning the gym floor and they didn't even know it. Linton was now dancing like he had been dancing for years all because of how good Tobias was at leading him into all the moves.

Linton never thought that he'd do something like this, but he wasn't bothered by it. Tobias was making this fun and before he knew it, they were both smiling and laughing softly as they kept dancing.

"It gets fast after this chorus, I'm gonna twirl you, okay?" Tobias said over the music.

Before, Linton would've been nervous, but he wasn't anymore. He nodded enthusiastically and gave Tobias a smile. "Alright, let's do it."

_...Don't you wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't you wanna dance?.._

Tobias took a step back and twirled Linton around, to which Linton stepped away from him and held onto his hand. Tobias beamed at him then twirled Linton back towards him, where they met chest to chest just before a smirk was shown by the taller male and he dipped the other one last time.

_...With somebody who loves me..._

Both of them were breathing heavily as the song came to an end. Tobias held Linton as he looked down at him and attempted to catch his breath, unable to stop himself from smiling because of how fun and energetic everything was. Even though Linton was still dangling in Tobias's arms, he was smiling widely while grasping his biceps.

They came out of their trance when their gym teacher started laughing.

Without changing their position, they looked over at her as she shook her head at them. "Boys... That was insane."

Tobias pulled Linton up and steadied him out so he wouldn't fall, grasping his shoulder tightly along with it. Linton let go of the other and cleared his throat as he looked down at his feet yet again.

"Good insane?" Tobias asked through his heavy breaths.

"Let's just say I doubt either of you will fail this unit."

Tobias chuckled softly and patted Linton's back before moving away from him. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but before he could congratulate him, the bell rang.

Students began piling out to the locker rooms and Linton and Tobias were short to follow, both of them now feeling a bit shy and awkward despite what they had just done. When they got to the door, Tobias stopped Linton since he knew Linton wouldn't initiate a conversation himself.

"Hey," he said as he turned Linton towards him. The look in his eyes made Tobias want to stare into them like he had done minutes before, but he broke eye contact before that could happen. "You'll be fine. You don't have to worry about people picking on you."

"Yeah?" Linton asked with a faint smile.

"Yeah, I promise." Shooting him one last smile, Tobias nodded to the door. "Let's go, come on."

With that being said, the two of them headed into the locker room– One heading right to his locker and the other heading left to get to his.


	5. Why Did It Have To Be Me?

# Why Did It Have To Be Me?

The school went into an uproar about Tobias and Linton dancing, so the two avoided each other as much as possible. Tobias didn't want to seem like a loser for dancing with one in gym class and Linton didn't want to seem gay. It felt weird to stay separated from one another, but that's how it had to be.

Linton didn't know why, but Tobias was stuck on his mind all the time. When he was out to dinner with his parents, he found himself scanning the restaurant in hopes that Tobias would be there. He had never been that desperate to see someone. It was new to him and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

Before he met Tobias, he felt a little lonely. Everyone else always had someone to think about, but Linton didn't. He never found anyone appealing to his tastes so he didn't date or try to.

Now when he least expected it, he was thinking about Tobias in ways that he wasn't used to and he didn't feel so lonely knowing that Tobias seemed just as cautious as him. They had no idea what was going on and they were afraid to confront it, so they stuck with the original plan, which was to ignore it.

_...When you were lonely, you needed a man– Someone to lean on, well, I understand, it's only natural, but why did it have to be me?.._

He didn't know whether to tell Tobias how he felt or not. He was afraid that he'd be shot down. Maybe he was overanalyzing the situation and Tobias didn't like him. Maybe Tobias was confused and thought Linton was a girl.

Linton knew that sounded stupid, but he couldn't wrap his head around the possibility of someone like Tobias liking him.

Tobias was in the same boat as Linton. Wherever he was, he looked for the other student. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of him outside of school, but it hadn't happened yet. He was yearning for the day that he'd see Linton elsewhere. He didn't know why because he didn't have any plans for what he'd do, but something in him was longing for the other.

It wasn't common for Tobias to like men. He knew that he wasn't completely straight, but he had never liked a man this much before until now. It was sudden and it was frightening him a bit.

Tobias wasn't one to date. He had stopped sleeping around a year before and when he had done that, he was sleeping with women. Not men. The thought of sleeping with another man didn't turn him off, but he was hesitant because he'd be wading into new waters.

For once, it seemed like the invincible Tobias Forge was incredibly intimidated by something and someone else.

And that someone else just so happened to be artsy little Linton Rubino.

One night in particular when Tobias was trying to sleep, he opened his eyes and expected Linton to be beside him. He had never felt that way before. He had never wished for someone else in his bed in that way.

He sat up and held his head in his hands with a groan. He wanted Linton and it was getting hard to fight off.

From the way that they'd steal glances at one another and with how many times a day they caught the other smiling or smirking in the direction, it was obvious that both of them were at their wits end with trying to keep whatever they had a secret.

Tobias thought about that that night when he couldn't sleep. A chill ran up his spine from the thought of Linton laying beside him and he rolled his shoulders back to try and make it go away, though it didn't help. He started to think about Linton rubbing his shoulders while they fell asleep together.

_...Nights can be empty, nights can be cold, so you were looking for someone to hold..._

Rather than confronting his emotions, Tobias glanced at his porn magazines then decided to jerk off until he was too tired to keep going. That didn't help though considering Linton crossed his mind one too many times while he had his hand wrapped around himself. Tobias was trying to not think about him, but he couldn't. Everything he did, he thought about doing it with that stupid fucking kid who painted sunsets and portraits of musicians.

But there was something about that boy. That student that aced every subject without even having to try.

Tobias liked that certain something and he couldn't get enough of it.

—

An end of the year dance was coming up and Linton was dreading it. He didn't want to go, so he wasn't going to. The tickets were expensive and he didn't have anyone to go with. Simon was taking a random girl and Linton didn't feel like being a third wheel. That wouldn't make him feel any better.

Staying home was the best option for him.

Dance proposals were being made every single day leading up to the dance and Linton was sick of it. He wished people would shut up for once and just ask in a way that wasn't distracting to others.

Mostly, he was just salty that he wouldn't be able to experience an end of the year dance with his friends at his old school. That was the only dance he wanted to go to, but he couldn't. The one thing he was looking forward to besides graduation had been cancelled for him, so he wasn't exactly happy with the whole end of the year dance ordeal at this school.

As he expected, Tobias was getting asked left and right by people.

But he didn't expect Tobias to shoot them all down.

Tobias announced that he wasn't taking anyone to the dance. That he would be going by himself to experience it as freely as he could.

Linton was curious about his decision. The people in Tobias's group seemed like the type to take the hottest people in the senior class to events like that so they could make out with them on the dance floor then fuck once they left. Linton knew Tobias wasn't like that and he was wondering how his little gang felt about that.

As Linton was at his locker grabbing his dirty gym clothes at the end of the day, Tobias came up to him. Linton didn't notice Tobias was in there with him until he cleared his throat.

Turning around, he looked Tobias up and down with a small smile before facing him completely. They were alone for once. Tension was building and neither of them had even said anything.

"Are you going to the dance that's before graduation?" Tobias asked right off the bat.

"No," Linton answered, "No point. I don't have a date and... I just think it's best if I stay home."

Tobias wanted to ask Linton to go with him, but he knew how that would go over in the long run. They'd both be tormented until the end of the year for being like that with each other.

It was better if they didn't do anything together at the dance.

Or in general.

"Oh," Tobias mumbled. Clearing his throat again, he shrugged and took a small step towards Linton. "Well, if you _were_ going... and you _could_ go with someone..." His eyes moved down to Linton's lips then darted back up to his eyes, getting lost in the color of them before he finished what he was saying, "Who would you go with?"

Linton's heart stopped and he felt himself blushing a little. This was the most upfront Tobias had ever been with him. He appreciated it, but his heart was starting to beat again and it was doing so faster than before. It was distracting him.

After a moment, Linton smiled sadly. "You know who I'd go with."

Tobias nodded stiffly a couple times and looked away. "Yeah... Yeah, I do."

_...I couldn't help it, it had to be you, and I always thought you knew the reason why..._

"I'm sorry," Linton said softly. The locker room was silent for a moment as he clutched his bag in his hands. He tried to look somewhere else besides Tobias, but that didn't work out. Within a couple seconds, they were looking at one another. "I mean it."

"For what?" Tobias asked in a quiet tone of voice. He knew that he'd usually sound brooding, but he didn't want to scare Linton. Not at a time like this. "You did nothing."

"I'm just sorry," he insisted. The tension was thicker than before and he had to inhale deeply because of it. He wanted to do something other than apologize, but he knew that he couldn't. Instead, he turned around and grabbed the last of his stuff before shutting the locker and stepping away from Tobias. "Have fun at the dance, Tobias. Talk to you... whenever."

Before Tobias could say anything else, Linton was leaving the locker room. Tobias was alone.

He bit his lower lip and glanced at the spot where Linton was just moments before. He was upset. He wished things were different. He wished that he would've gone about this a different way so it wouldn't be as frustrating as it was.

All of those times in math class where he ruined Linton's things were to get his attention. Once he had gotten it, he didn't want to lose it. Catching Linton looking at him and smiling made his heart swell. He was happy all because of him. It was unexpected, but Tobias didn't exactly hate it.

_...Falling in love with a person like you happens so quickly, there's nothing to do..._

What Tobias did hate was how secretive they had to be about how they felt. In fact after the whole gym class scenario, they were practically drifting apart.

_'If I weren't so self-centered, this could've worked out.'_

As a flood of anger washed over him, Tobias kicked the locker in front of him then stormed out of the locker room, wanting nothing more than to go home and be alone to think of ways to fix this.

_...It's only natural, but why did it have to be me?.._


	6. Something About The Way You Look Tonight

# Playlist of the Year

The last dance before graduation.

One of the most hectic days for a student.

Tobias was ready to have fun at the dance. He wasn't able to convince Linton to come, but at least they were talking more than before. Linton caved in and finally asked Tobias for his phone number, and Tobias happily gave it to him. From then on, they called each other whenever they could.

Linton's parents noticed his new obsession with calling people and they were curious as to who he could've been talking to. It was unlike him to be so eager to talk to someone, but they were happy for him nonetheless. At least he was being social and talking to other people besides his family members.

Tobias's parents didn't notice anything different with their son. He was practically glued to the phone all the time so hearing him talk to someone wasn't new to them. What was new, however, was how happy Tobias had been lately. They asked him if he had girlfriend and he replied no, but they didn't believe him. He had to be into someone for him to jump for the phone whenever it rang and for him to be so smiley at the most random times.

At the dance, Tobias was dressed to the nines. He was wearing a suit and had his hair slicked up. He always wanted to appear taller than he was and that was the way to do it.

Even though he didn't get to see Tobias, Linton complimented him and urged him to be safe, and he promised that he would be. He didn't want to get in trouble right before graduation.

Even though he was a favorite amongst the staff, he wasn't about to test his luck.

His friends had dates with them, but Tobias was alone. When there were couple's dances, he stayed back near the wall and drank some punch. That's all he could do. He turned down every offer he got to dance and kept to himself.

There was only one person that he wanted to dance with and they weren't there.

As he expected, his friends ripped on him for being so secluded that night. He didn't care. He blew them off and said that he wasn't feeling like himself. That wasn't a lie. He felt like a part of him was missing without Linton with him.

The night was halfway over when Tobias felt a bit more lonely than usual. He tried calling Linton on the phone near the locker rooms, but he wouldn't pick up. That worried him.

"Who are you trying to call?" One of his friends asked him.

"Oh, my mom," he lied, "She won't pick up."

"Try the phone in the hall! This one acts up a lot."

Tobias nodded quickly and broke away from his group of friends. His anxiety was beginning to skyrocket and he needed to get out of there to get ahold of Linton. If he didn't hear his voice, he was going to lose it and he knew it.

Having a breakdown at the last dance of the school year wasn't how Tobias wanted to be remembered.

It took him about a minute to fight his way through the crowd to get to the hallway. By the time he reached the door, he was blocked by someone standing there.

"Hey, excuse me–" he began saying as he stepped up to them.

That's when he paused.

He brought his head up and came face to face with none other than Linton.

"Linton?" He questioned in a daze. He looked him over and he nearly choked on his breath. Linton looked... like a fucking god.

His hair was swept over to one side and he was dressed in a form fitting suit that made him look a bit more built than he actually was. Tobias couldn't stop staring at him and that made Linton smile to himself.

"Surprise," Linton said softly. He grinned at Tobias and looked around them before grabbing his arm and dragging him out into the hallway. They couldn't be surrounded by people. They'd get suspicious. Once the door shut and the hallway was clear, Linton smiled at Tobias and looked down at himself. "I cleaned up to come and see you... I figured you were lonely."

"I was," Tobias admitted. He smiled breathlessly at Linton and blushed heavily. No one had ever done something like this for him and he was flustered. "I– I... Fuck. God, you look so fucking good."

Linton laughed and shook his head, his cheeks turning red as well. His heart was racing in his chest and he was overwhelmed in the best way. Tobias's reaction was better than he hoped it'd be.

"Says you," Linton said, "You look fantastic."

"Shut up. Just shut up," Tobias said in a playful manner even though he meant it.

Linton did as he was told and stared at Tobias for a long moment. He was happy and his pulse was thudding like crazy. He had never felt this strongly for someone else and he wanted to show it. He needed to.

Tobias deserved to feel this way and experience someone actually appreciating him. Linton wanted to be one of his experiences.

"Dance with me," Linton said once he realized what song was on. It was a slow Elton John song and it had always been a dream of his to dance to one of his songs. The music could be heard outside of the gymnasium and the hall was dim, making the lighting perfect for the occasion. "Please."

This time, they made sure to stand chest to chest with their foreheads resting together once they began to dance. Linton draped his arms around Tobias's neck as Tobias rested his hands lowly on his hips. They didn't care if someone happened to walk out during that time. They were having an emotional moment and they just wanted to stand there and dance with one another without any interruptions.

_...I need to tell you how you light up every second of the day..._

Tobias felt the tip of his nose brush against Linton's and he smiled. They were in sync. They were within one another's space and they were finally expressing how they felt in a way other than calling each other. Tobias would take this over being stuck to the phone any day.

_...And I can't explain, but it's something about the way you look tonight..._

Linton opened his eyes and looked down at Tobias's chest, which was hitting his with every other movement. He wanted to be this close to him for as long as possible. Having Tobias with him like this was soothing him all while sending his heart into a fit of palpitations and sudden stops.

"You're stunning, Linton," Tobias whispered to him. Linton closed his eyes again and leaned into Tobias even more, his fingers beginning to thread through the hair at the back of his head. He had wanted to hold him like this for months and now that he was finally able to, he didn't want to let go. "You don't even realize it."

"And you're a masterpiece," Linton whispered back, "I've never seen a piece of art as beautiful as you."

Tobias opened his eyes just to see Linton smile as he spoke. His breath hitched in his throat and he had to stop himself from leaning in to kiss the other. This was risky enough as it was.

_...With a smile, you pull the deepest secrets from my heart..._

He found himself wrapping his arms around Linton's waist just to pull him closer as the song continued to play in the gym. He always thought that it would be cheesy to dance to a song like this, but here he was. Embracing Linton as if he knew that he was meant to be in his arms and swaying back and forth with him while they stood together in the middle of the empty hallway at the most important dance of the year.

"Don't let go," Linton very quietly whispered, "God, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Tobias wanted to respond, but he couldn't. He was at a loss for words. To make up for it, he tightened his arms around Linton and let their lips hover just centimeters away from one another's as they danced.

_...In all honesty, I'm speechless and I don't know where to start..._

The song continued to play and they stayed where they were in each other's arms. They didn't want to break away from each other, but they had to. After slow songs played was when people ran to the restroom and they were right by them.

Reluctantly, they took their arms away from one another. Linton instantly missed the feeling of their bodies being pressed together. A part of him wanted to leave so they could go back to someone's house and be alone, but he knew that Tobias wanted to be there so he didn't suggest it.

"You're the best dance partner I've ever had," Tobias said shyly with a small smile.

Linton couldn't help but let a bright smile spread across his lips. He loved hearing Tobias say things like that. "You're the only dance partner I've ever had... So that makes you the best for me, too."

With a laugh, Tobias leaned in to kiss Linton's cheek. That's all he'd be doing for now. He knew that if he were to kiss him right there that he would've dragged it into the bathroom to continue what they were doing and he didn't want to do something like that in the bathroom at school.

"Let's go inside. I'll get you something to drink," Tobias offered, "We can't be... like this when we're around them, though."

"I know. I'm used to it." Linton scoffed. "I'm still in the closet. This isn't new to me."

Tobias chuckled and took a step away from him, waving for Linton to follow him as he headed towards the gymnasium again. "Come on, now. We've got a long night ahead of us."

And what a long night it was indeed.


	7. Can’t Fight This Feeling

# Playlist of the Year

Every day after the dance, Linton and Tobias were together. They knew that they couldn't stand to be without each other. They hadn't kissed yet and Tobias was dying to do so. Linton was the one making him wait. He said it was revenge for Tobias making him wait.

Tobias hated himself in that moment. He did that to himself and he knew it. Now he had to face the consequences.

He and Linton were in the backseat of his car at the drive-in. Neither of them were paying attention to the movie, mostly because Tobias was kissing Linton's neck and Linton was grasping Tobias's thigh to stop himself from touching him elsewhere. Tobias told him that it was okay to touch him wherever he wanted, but Linton was waiting still, no matter how much it killed him.

At school, they talked more. Tobias's friends didn't like him talking to someone like Linton, but they couldn't do much about it. It was the end of the year and Tobias was their leader. If one of them tried to confront them, he'd shoot them down and shove them back into their place. There no use in trying to go against his actions at this point.

Tobias wished that it had been like that all along. If that were the case then he would've flaunted Linton long before the end of the year. No one knew that they were a thing without being a thing, but he was aware that people were questioning why they were friends.

One of those people was Simon. Linton explained to him that they became friends in AP calculus and Simon believed him. Then again, Simon was oblivious and had no idea that Linton was gay, even though he often dropped hints around him all the time.

Meanwhile in the backseat of the car, Linton was moaning quietly as they laid down together. The trunk was open in order for them to see the screen so they had to be quiet, but that was becoming hard from how relentless Tobias was being as he sucked on Linton's neck hard enough to leave marks.

He'd have to cover them up somehow.

"Tobias..." he breathed out as he propped his head back up on the pillow. They were at a slight angle and Tobias took that as the perfect opportunity to tuck his head into the crook between Linton's neck and collarbone area. The downside was that Linton couldn't move much because of it. "Jesus, how many are you gonna leave?"

"As many as I want," Tobias mumbled onto his skin, "Kiss me."

"I can't when your mouth's on..." He gasped softly as Tobias bit his skin and shuddered afterwards, his hand moving to the inside of Tobias's thigh despite how hard he was trying to hold off. "My neck..."

"Say you'll kiss me and I'll stop," Tobias told him, "Come on, babe... Say it."

Tobias's hand that was resting his stomach slowly moved up to his chest and rubbed across it, calming Linton down and causing him to relax against the pillows. Linton was moaning again and stopping himself from twitching his hips up for more. Tobias was making this hard for him.

But he wasn't going to cave in.

"No... I want ice cream," Linton said suddenly, "Let's get ice cream."

Tobias stopped what he was doing to make sure that he had heard Linton right. Did Linton really just choose ice cream over him? Is that what just happened?

Bringing his head up, Tobias furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Linton. "You want... ice cream?"

With his eyes moving down to catch a glimpse of Tobias's swollen lips, Linton smiled innocently and nodded. "Yeah. It's a warm night and we aren't watching the movie, so... ice cream."

Well, it wasn't an awful idea. It was just sudden.

"If that's what you want," Tobias said slowly. He had to ignore the fact that was on the brink of becoming hard in order to give Linton what he wanted. This boy had him on a tight leash and Linton knew that. He was using it to his advantage. "When do you want it?"

"Now." Turning his head to see what scene was playing, he scoffed and nodded. "Yeah, now. Straight love is boring."

Tobias took a look at the screen for himself just in time to see them cry as they kissed each other. He didn't know what the movie was about. He just wanted to be cliché and do things with Linton in the backseat of his car while they were at the drive in.

He had lived up to the cliché as best as he could at that point in time. He'd come back to it.

"It's a chick flick, what did you expect?" Tobias asked as he left a few more kisses to Linton's neck. If they were going to leave, they needed to do it now before Tobias got ahead of himself. "Let's go, babe. You can get whatever kind of ice cream you want."

Linton smiled and broke away from Tobias, pressing their foreheads together teasingly as he ran his hand down his chest. "You're perfect. I'm ready to go."

With that, the two of them climbed into their seats after Tobias had shut the trunk and left the drive in to go get ice cream, Linton's hand resting on Tobias's thigh as they drove.

—

Tobias parked at the park near his house after they had gotten their ice cream and allowed them to eat in silence. It was late at night so no one was there besides them. They were alone yet again.

The lights inside the car were on as a precaution. Tobias didn't want either of them spilling ice cream on the interior of his car. Linton had told him that he'd be careful, but Tobias still turned them on nonetheless.

The moon was shining bright down on the hood of the car and music was playing faintly over the radio. Neither of them were really listening to it. Tension was building between them again, but it wasn't bad. It was tension regarding what was being left unsaid. Both of them had things to say, but they weren't saying them yet.

Linton ate another spoonful of ice cream as Tobias set his down in the cup holder. His eyes fell on Linton then moved to look out the windshield when Linton looked over at him. He was only being sheepish because of what he was about to say to him.

Like Tobias, Linton was shy suddenly, too. He wanted to say what was on his mind, but he didn't know whether he should or not. Maybe Tobias didn't want to hear about his feelings. Maybe he just wanted to watch Linton eat ice cream in silence and stare at the marks that he left on his neck earlier. Linton didn't know, but in the end, he sat down his cup of ice cream down next to Tobias's then sat with his hands in his lap.

The tension only grew now that neither of them were eating. They were sitting quietly as the song on the radio changed.

Tobias couldn't take it anymore. He had to break the silence.

Linton couldn't take it either.

"I've got something to say–"

"I need to tell you something–"

By complete coincidence and accident, they both spoke at the same time as they moved to face each other. Blushes tinted their cheeks and smiles curved their lips, but it was Tobias who made the first hand gesture, "You go first. I think you spoke first."

"No, no, you go."

"No, babe, _you_ go."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

Linton wasn't prepared for something like that to happen. If anything, it only rattled him. Now he felt like he had lost his train of thought, even though he had been reciting what he wanted to say for weeks now.

This was the moment where Linton spoke for himself and admitted his feelings. He was done hiding. Done with acting like nothing was happening between them emotionally. Done with not being Tobias's.

That gave him the confidence to speak up.

"I know that at school we can't be like this and I know that this community isn't very accepting of it either..." Linton started out softly, "but... I like you. I like you a lot and I don't know why. At first I hated you and I tried to stay away from you because I thought you hated me and then... I just started liking you. I don't know how, but it happened and now I'm pathetically into you and I can't stand being without you."

Tobias felt like he was in the chick flick that they had just seen at the drive in. His heart was beating at a million miles an hour and he was so close to reaching out and pulling Linton to him so he could kiss him like it was the last thing he'd ever do.

Actually, Tobias wouldn't mind if that was the last thing he'd ever do. It'd be a privilege to kiss Linton then leave this world.

"I like you, too," Tobias said after a moment. He needed to let the words come out of him despite how much they scared him. This was a part of life. He couldn't hide from it. "I like you more than I've ever liked anyone else. I'm sorry for being a dick to you, I just... I'm an asshole in general. Then I got scared because I started liking you and I'm usually into girls, and I started thinking about you and I couldn't stop. Not even for a second. It was just... everything. All of it. Math class, gym class, the cafeteria, everything that happened has lead up to me liking you." He frowned and sighed sharply, his hand coming up to rub the side of his neck. "I'm sorry for everything I ever did that hurt you. I'm sorry for being a dick and making it seem like I hated you and didn't want to be around you because that's the last thing I want. I want to be with you every second of the day."

"I want to be with you, too," Linton cut him off. He didn't want Tobias to tear himself down. Not at a time like this. "You don't have to apologize. After awhile, I caught onto your intentions. It's okay."

"I feel bad."

"Don't." Linton shook his head with a smile, a quiet laugh falling from his lips. "Don't. It's fine. _We're_ fine."

Tobias nodded slowly and let a smile form on his lips, his eyes locking on the other's. "We're fine... you're perfect."

The song changed on the radio again and despite it being the cheesiest song known to man, they didn't change it. They tuned it out as they adjusted themselves in their seats to face each other a bit better.

"I'm glad you like me," Linton murmured, "I'm so glad you like me."

"I'm happy you like me for me and not for my popularity... and my dick personality."

Linton laughed and reached out to cup Tobias's cheek in his hand, his thumb brushing over his skin lightly. "You're fine... I like you for you. I have for awhile."

_...What started out as friendship has grown stronger..._

Tobias leaned into his touch and grinned at him. He was content. He felt perfect when he was with Linton. He couldn't describe why or how that was, but there was something about him that made Tobias feel complete.

"Remember when you told me at the dance to not to let you go?" Tobias asked as he moved a bit closer to Linton.

The smaller male nodded. "I do. Why?"

"Because... I'm really never gonna let you go."

_...I feel so secure when we're together..._

Linton giggled softly and threaded his fingers through Tobias's hair, gently working through the small tangles in it. "Good. I'd be sad if you did. I don't know what I'd do."

Both of them gave a quiet laugh as Tobias leaned in, stopping just before their lips could touch. Linton inhaled sharply through his nose and his eyes slipped shut, waiting for Tobias to make the next move.

Tobias was keeping himself propped up with his hand on the center console and the other resting on the arm of Linton's seat. Linton was leaning up to match Tobias's height and their lips were just inches apart. If one of them moved, they would collide which is something that had stopped them from doing before then.

_...And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might..._

The wait was killing him. He couldn't do this anymore. Linton was silent, which meant he wasn't protesting this like he had done before. That was the last straw for Tobias.

As the chorus of the song started, Tobias kissed Linton like he wanted to for months. He pressed his lips to the other's deeply and kissed him as if he were water and he was dying of thirst. Linton cupped Tobias's jaw in his hand to keep him where he was as he kissed back, sinking into the kiss as fireworks exploded in his mind.

Tobias's lips felt like velvet. They were plump, but they were a perfect fit for Linton's lips. Linton quickly found that he couldn't get enough of them. His lips were parting on Tobias's as he completely submitted himself to the other male and to his own emotions.

_...And I can't fight this feeling anymore..._

The kiss was quickly becoming passion driven. Linton sat up more and grasped the front of Tobias's shirt as Tobias ran his tongue along his lower lip, earning entrance to his mouth. From there the kiss escalated quicker than both of them thought it would.

It was mostly Linton who was desperate for Tobias. He was holding the other male close as he kissed him heatedly and passionately, moaning into his mouth while one hand gripped the material of his shirt and the other tangled itself in his hair. Tobias had his hand on the side of Linton's neck to keep him where he was as he let his tongue run around the inside of his mouth.

Linton moaned a little louder and Tobias pulled away just to stop himself from getting carried away. They caught their breath quickly and looked at each other with wide eyes.

"My house," Linton panted out, "My family isn't there."

Tobias nodded quickly and sat down just as fast, buckling himself up at the speed of the light before putting the car in drive to begin speeding to Linton's house to continue what they had started.


	8. Wouldn’t It Be Nice

# Playlist of the Year

The following morning, Linton woke up naked next to Tobias with a dull ache in his lower half. He knew what they had done and he wanted to do it again, but he wasn't about to wake Tobias up out of a dead sleep to get his attention and beg for more. He had done that last night when Tobias was fucking him into the mattress and making a mess of him.

Linton didn't want to admit it, but Tobias had taken his virginity. He was well aware that he wasn't Tobias's first time, but he was the first guy that he had ever slept with. It didn't seem like it, though. Tobias knew his way around the male body and within minutes of them being in bed, Linton was begging more than he ever thought he would.

The thought only made him blush and turn himself around in bed to see Tobias. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. Both of them were covered in hickeys, but they didn't care. They did something that they wanted to. And besides, the year was practically over. If they outed themselves now then they'd be fine. There wouldn't be enough time for people to hate them.

Linton looked down at noticed that Tobias was still naked as well. He thought that he had felt him move in the middle of the night and figured that he was putting on clothes. Apparently he wasn't. Linton didn't mind, though.

As he closed his eyes and tucked himself into Tobias's body, he thought more about that they had done the night before.

—

"Jesus, your fucking moans," Tobias had groaned out at one point that night.

Linton's frontside was pressed down against the bed as Tobias fucked him from behind. This position surprisingly wasn't Tobias's idea– It was Linton's. It didn't turn him off, though, so he went along with it.

It was safe to say that after that, Tobias knew he was gay and that he'd never go back to fucking women.

"Harder," Linton begged as his hips began to grind against the mattress. Tobias obliged and sped up his thrusts again, which caused a long whine to fall from Linton's mouth.

Linton had no idea what Tobias was into, but once Tobias had moved the full length mirror into the room and had propped it up against the wall so he could force Linton to watch them as they fucked, he knew that he'd have fun if they did this again.

Tobias had taken a harsh grip on Linton's hair and forced his head up when he lowered it. Linton whined again and rolled his hips down, attempting to relieve some of the pressure that was on his cock. A low growl came from Tobias's throat as he slammed his hips forward, forcing his cock as far into Linton as he could. Linton released a desperate moan from the feeling and let his eyes roll back before he shut them.

"Keep your eyes open for me," Tobias whispered hotly in his ear. He was groaning every so often and that only made Linton more worked up. Tobias had groans that could make him cum within seconds, but he was holding off as long as he could. "Look at yourself... Look at how much you want me."

Linton did as he was told and opened his eyes to look at himself in the mirror. He thought that he had blushed heavily before, but at that moment he was darker than he had ever been. Tobias had choked him a bit and Linton's face went red from that, but now it was red from Tobias's words and actions. All Tobias did was smirk and slam into him a bit harder to bring Linton to his orgasm.

"Fuck..." Linton whimpered out as his body began to tremble beneath Tobias. He was about to cum and he knew it. Even when he was getting himself off, he couldn't cum without touching his cock. It seemed like that was about to change. "I'm gonna cum."

Tobias grunted quietly and nodded, pressing wet and heated kisses to Linton's neck as his member twitched inside of him. "I'm gonna cum, too. Keep looking at yourself. Watch yourself cum."

Linton didn't have to be told twice. Instead of keeping a steady rhythm, Tobias was now fucking him just to make him cum. Linton didn't mind because it was making him feel even better.

His tip was wet with pre-cum and he was gasping for air as the pit of his gut tightened. Having Tobias hit his prostate with every other thrust was getting to Linton more than he expected. He was right on the brink of his orgasm when Tobias opened his eyes and looked back at him in the mirror. The look in them sent Linton over the edge.

To keep his head up, Tobias gripped his hair again as Linton came beneath him. He tightened around Tobias's length as he rutted down against the mattress helplessly and desperately, causing his release to stain the sheets all while making a mess of his abdomen.

"You're so fucking hot," Tobias praised him as he free hand played with Linton's raw nipple. He had been teasing it all night and he found out that Linton enjoyed being touched like that. He'd be doing it again soon. "God, I'm gonna cum."

Linton was too fucked out to say anything. His eyes shut again as Tobias drilled into him relentlessly then spilled his load. Hearing Tobias groan and feeling him shake against his body nearly turned him on again. He couldn't help it. He was addicted to Tobias and wanted to feel him fuck him all over again.

Of course Linton had never had someone cum in him before so he was a little grossed out when all that was inside of him began leaking out. Tobias didn't think it was gross. In fact, he liked it.

That's what lead them to having another a second round of sex, on top of Linton begging Tobias to fuck him again. Tobias couldn't say no and no one was stopping them.

—

Tobias woke up in bed alone, but he knew that he wasn't alone in the house. He could smell the aroma of pancakes coming up the stairs and he smiled softly to himself.

Linton. He was making him breakfast.

Though he could smell the food and hear Linton listening to music, he didn't want to move. He was worn out from the night before. Needless to say, Tobias caved in to Linton's begging more than once and they fucked until they couldn't anymore. He was actually surprised that Linton could walk.

Throughout all of his sexual encounters, Tobias had never slept with anyone like Linton. After they had fucked once, Tobias was driven to go again and again and again. That had never happened before. Something about Linton was driving him crazy, though, and it was doing the same to his sex drive.

Neither of them were complaining, however. It's not like they deemed having sex as a bad thing.

Eventually, Tobias forced himself to get out of bed and put some clothes on. He couldn't walk downstairs naked. With his luck, it wouldn't be Linton down there. It'd be a family member of his or someone else he didn't expect. Dressing modestly was the best option at the time.

What hurt him most was his hips and lower back. He had been fucking Linton so hard that he felt stiff. He figured that it would go away after a couple hours and that he needed to take it slow at first, which is what he did to the best of his ability.

As he entered the kitchen, Linton turned around and smiled at him. The bruises were dark against his pale skin and Tobias couldn't help but smirk when he saw them. Some were dark brown while others were shades of purple and blue. Linton looked good marked up like that.

"Good morning, my personal chef," Tobias mumbled teasingly as he walked to Linton. When he got to him, he wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled the smaller male to him, pressing a few sleepy kisses to his lips before he broke them to whisper, "How did you sleep?"

"Fantastic," Linton said with a smile. He draped his arms around Tobias's neck and drew him closer to kiss him again, his heart swelling from how much he loved being around him. "I'm a little wobbly today. Any ideas as to why I'm like that?"

The hazel eyed boy laughed quietly. "Mm, maybe it was your excessive begging last night, my love. If you would've calmed down, I wouldn't have gone so hard."

"I wanted it hard."

"I know. You're cute."

"Says you." Kissing Tobias's nose, he smiled at him then moved back to the counter to mix up more pancake batter. "Get something to drink. I don't want you to be dehydrated."

Although what Linton said was slightly cheesy, but it made him smile. Linton cared for him and that brought happiness to his being for the first time in a long time. A part of him still felt guilty about how rude he had been to him at first, but he tried to ignore that now that they were a thing without actually being a thing.

It felt like his crush on Linton had lasted for years when it had only been months. He started really liking him around Valentine's Day and it was the end of May at that time. He had been hung up over that little art nerd for a little over three months and there wasn't an end to his feelings in sight. He wasn't complaining, though.

Tobias was suddenly taken out of his thoughts by the sound of a song he knew all too well playing.

"Linton, turn this _fucking_ song off!" Tobias snapped playfully.

"Come on, it's The Beach Boys!" Linton said with a smile. Tobias shut the fridge after shutting the orange juice back down on the shelf inside of it, turning to the other with a soft smirk on his face. "Come here."

"Linton–"

Before he could do anything, Linton was walking (as best as he could) over to him and grabbing his hands to dramatically begin singing along to the music.

Tobias didn't want to admit it, but he was already loving this.

_"Wouldn't it be nice if we were older and we wouldn't have to wait so long? And wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong?_ " Linton serenaded him as he began swinging their arms from side to side.

Tobias was grinning like an idiot and tightening his grip on his hands as his heart began to beat quickly in his chest. He usually wasn't so soft with someone, but he was with Linton. Something about him brought about a new side of Tobias. It wasn't bad, but he was still getting used to it a bit.

Before they knew it, they were dancing. It wasn't anything like they had done in gym class or at prom, but it was dancing nonetheless. Both of them smiled brighter than the sun as they moved around the kitchen together.

_...Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up in the morning when the day is new?.._

"You're so fucking perfect," Tobias said to Linton over the music.

Linton just laughed. "I'm far from it, but I love hearing you say that."

"Shh, don't say that. That's not what I wanna hear."

Linton laughed again and leaned in as the song slowed down. He wrapped his arms around Tobias's neck again and tugged him close. Tobias went ahead and rested his hands on Linton's hips with their gazes locking on one another's.

_"Maybe if we think and wish, and hope and pray, it might come true_ ," Linton sang quietly to Tobias.

He didn't expect him to sing the next line, but he did as he gave Linton's hips a gentle squeeze. " _Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do._ "

_"We could be married."_

_"We could be married..."_

_"And then we'd be happy."_

_"And then we'd be happy..."_

Linton smiled from the harmony of the two rounds and shook his head before turning them around in a circle. " _Oh, wouldn't it be nice_?"

Zoning out didn't do Tobias any good. He was too caught up in everything that Linton was and everything he would be in the future. Even though they were in the present, he couldn't help but think about their future.

Waking up with Linton again after falling asleep with him. Kissing him whenever he could and hearing that adorable laugh of his. Twirling strands of the other's hair around his fingers before he leaned in to whisper sweet nothings in his ears. Tobias thought about all of that. How could he not? Linton was perfect to him.

_"Let's talk about it..."_ Linton's voice was the first thing he heard when he came out of his train of thought. It was obvious that Tobias was daydreaming, but he didn't mind. It was something good, which was also obvious because of the smile that Tobias had subconsciously cracked.

"Pause it," Tobias said suddenly.

"Why?"

"Just pause it."

Linton frowned though he did what he was told after he had separated himself from Tobias. Afterwards, he went back to him, only to be backed up against the counter by the other.

He rested his hands on both sides of Linton to keep him where he was against the counter. Linton bit his lip and looked up at Tobias, expecting him to turn the situation sexual based on their current position.

"The lyrics," Tobias began, "'Let's talk about it..' I wanna talk about it. 'It' being us." He slowly snaked his arms around Linton and brought him close, their foreheads resting together as he closed his eyes. "I like you more than I ever thought I would and... I don't want to be without you."

"Jesus, you sound like you're proposing," Linton said with a soft laugh. Suddenly, he stopped and so did his heart. "Wait, you aren't proposing, are you? Tobias–"

"Linton, Jesus," Tobias said through a laugh. He opened his eyes and shook his head, one hand coming up to brush his fingers through his hair to swipe it to one side. "No, I'm not proposing... I mean, I guess I sort of am. But not with marriage."

"What do you mean?"

"My boyfriend," he said before he could hesitate, "I want you to be my boyfriend."

Linton paused for a moment and looked over Tobias's face to see if he was lying. He wasn't. He was being completely serious. That look of honesty was in his eyes and Linton knew it was there. Even if he didn't want it to be, it'd shine through anyway.

"I'll be your boyfriend," Linton responded a bit breathlessly. He cleared his throat and nodded, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the other's. "I'll be whatever you want me to be, I'm yours."

"You're mine," Tobias said with a soft laugh. It was one of happiness and shock, but mostly of surprise. He could see why Linton would shoot him down, but he didn't. He didn't and Tobias felt like he was on top of the world. "Fuck, you're mine."

"I know," Linton chuckled, "I'm yours."

"My boyfriend."

With a nod, he leaned in and pushed them away from the counter, guiding his arms around Tobias's neck so he could run his fingers through his hair and brush their lips together. "Your boyfriend. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Then I guess you're stuck with me."

"You can't be stuck with someone when you enjoy being around them."

Grins overtook their faces just before they closed the space between them and connected their lips. Tobias couldn't help but break the kiss a few times just to whisper to himself that Linton was his boyfriend. Linton didn't mind. He thought it was cute and that only lead to him kissing Tobias more and more.

He didn't know that someone who had been such an asshole to him could make him feel so happy, but here he was. Enjoying how good Tobias made him feel while they kissed in the middle of the kitchen whilst making breakfast.

Neither of them wanted to admit it, but they had thought about this before and now that it was happening, they were living for it.


	9. Surrender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter, but don’t worry. I’m writing a second part to this and it’s set in this current year. Get ready for drama, folks.

# Playlist of the Year

Finally, it was graduation day. Tobias was excited, but not as excited as Linton. He had been dying to finish upper secondary school since he came back to his old school. The only good thing he got out of it was a relationship with Tobias. Most of his days were boring and after a while, the teachers gave up with what they were doing which didn't help Linton's boredom. Tobias was what got him through the day.

Over the week and a half that passed after they had became a thing, Tobias was a little more open about his sexuality. That didn't mean that he made out with Linton in the hallway, but it meant that he invited Linton to sit with them at lunch. His friends weren't fans of him, but Linton didn't care. Tobias was the leader and they couldn't do shit about what he did. They had to sit there and deal with him and Linton talking about rock bands throughout lunch.

Like Tobias expected, a few of his friends attempted to get into what they were talking about so they could feel as if they had a place in everything. It worked for a day or so, but after that they gave up when Linton and Tobias began talking about heavy metal. That's where they drew the line.

They could handle Led Zeppelin, but not bands like Gorgoroth or Death.

Tobias and Linton found that funny.

Now, here they were. Sitting down in their seats that were up on the stage and in their caps and gowns. Linton would smile at Tobias every so often and Tobias had to hold back from leaning over to kiss that grin off his face. Instead, he focused on what was happening.

They were sat on the stage because Tobias was the valedictorian and Linton was the salutatorian. People were angry at Linton for being awarded the title, but he had kept his grades up since his first year at his previous school, and it's not like anyone there deserved it more than him– Besides Tobias.

Academics were his thing. He wanted to get a good job and he knew that he needed good grades for that. Besides, academics came easy to Tobias. He didn't have to do much studying. He did the bare minimum and asked questions whenever he could which lead him to becoming the valedictorian.

Tobias's parents were proud of him and they fed his massive ego. Even though Linton despised that part of him sometimes, he couldn't help but be infatuated with everything else that he had to offer. Linton wasn't very self-centered and Tobias knew that. He hoped that complimenting Linton enough would make him like that.

"Are you ready for your speech?" Linton asked as the principal took the stage and began speaking into the microphone.

Tobias nodded and smirked smugly. "Definitely. I changed it last minute."

Linton's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "What? Why did you do that?"

The same look stayed on his face as he shrugged and faced forward. "You'll see. It'll be great."

Linton was a bit unsure of how 'great' it'd be, but he didn't really doubt Tobias. If anything, it'd be funny and less than serious. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

While Linton was nearly shaking in his place, Tobias didn't budge. He was unfazed. He didn't mind being in front of crowds of people. Naturally, he was a very theatrical person while Linton wasn't. He was neutral and kept quiet whenever he could.

It was odd, but it worked out for them. Tobias was the upfront one and Linton was the laidback one. In the end, it didn't matter who was who and who was what because they both liked each other regardless. All that they cared about was how happy they made each other.

The sun was blazing down on them and Linton felt like he was about to have a stroke. On top of being nervous, he could feel himself sweating beneath his gown and it was bothering him. He hated sweating. It made him feel gross and sticky, and that was the last thing he wanted to feel right before giving a speech.

"...Let's give a big round of applause for our salutatorian, Albin Rubino!"

The use of his first name made him cringe, but it made Tobias snicker under his breath. Linton playfully shot daggers at him with his eyes before he stood up and walked to the podium, forcing himself to smile at the principal as he began unfolding the paper that his speech had been written on.

The smile that was on Tobias's face was bigger than one would've expected. People knew that they were friends, but Tobias was looking at him a bit oddly. Before they could question it, Linton began speaking.

"Well, first of all, I'd like to say that despite the fact that I returned to this school back in January to finish upper secondary school, I've felt accepted and I'm glad that the staff has recognized my hard work, and has decided to make me the salutatorian of this year's class," Linton started. He didn't believe his own words, but this would be the last time he'd have to lie about something like this. He could do it just once more.

Much like every salutatorian speech, he praised the class and their work throughout the years. Tobias wanted to roll his eyes about how boring every speech like this was, but he didn't. Linton sounded so cute when he spoke about things he didn't care about either. Tobias had to force himself to stop smiling because he knew that if he didn't that he'd draw attention to himself.

For once, he was letting someone else have the spotlight.

And he was only doing that because it was Linton.

Linton was boring himself with his words despite how much he had attempted to spice things up. He knew that if it weren't for his connection to Tobias that he'd be made fun of after this. Thankfully, Tobias was like a guardian angel that protected him from the bad people that wanted to break him down.

"Thank you for listening to me drone on about this," Linton said with a soft laugh. Glancing back at Tobias, he smiled a bit and grabbed his paper to fold it up again. "Before I can say anything else, I'd like to introduce you all to the valedictorian of our graduating class. You all know him and you'll instantly recognize him if you can't pinpoint the name to his face, which I don't see how you couldn't, but... oh well... I present to you, Tobias Forge."

Tobias grinned again and stood up. He got more cheers than Linton did and he felt bad about that. Even though he _was_ the valedictorian, he felt that Linton should've gotten the same amount of attention.

He couldn't really fix that, though.

Linton sat down as Tobias stood at the podium and looked out at everyone. He was excited about what he was going to say. Even though he was supposed to read off what he had wrote weeks ago, he wasn't going to. Tobias wanted to leave with a bang and that wasn't the way to do it.

He had to do it his own way and he knew it.

"I'm Tobias and this is my speech," he began with a cocky smirk forming on his lips. The crowd silenced down and Tobias cleared his throat, his eyes dancing over each person as he started up the show, "They say that school is unforgettable. That we only go through it once and that we should live it how we want to. Some people do that and others don't. That's alright. We can't really force people to do what we feel is right because that isn't how life works.

"I remember my first day of upper secondary school. I was scared beyond belief and I didn't want to do anything except graduate. Here I am now– Graduating." He paused and glanced down at his feet for a moment before looking back up. "But I have to be honest with you all... I didn't have the greatest school experience. I thought I did, but then that changed. My perspective changed."

Linton almost choked on his own saliva. He had an idea as to where this was going, but he couldn't stop Tobias. He was going to do this regardless of everyone's reactions and he was going to be cocky and proud while he did it.

All Linton could do was sit back and watch.

"I slept my way through this school. I fucked half of every class just to be popular because I thought that being popular was the answer to everything. Newsflash! It isn't!" Tobias scoffed and shook his head. "I can't believe I was so ignorant, but at least I'm not as bad as some of you."

"Tobias, Jesus..." Linton groaned under his breath.

The valedictorian didn't hear him. "I spent my years here breaking people down to make myself feel good and my little group of so-called friends did it, too. I realize how awful I am now and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done all that because that's low. That's really, really low and I'm sorry." Pausing yet again, Tobias sighed and shrugged. "But honestly? I'm gonna tell you all what changed that for me. What made me think about someone other than myself and made me give a damn about other people... I should say 'who' because it's a person who did this for me. Not a 'what.'"

Linton's mouth went dry and he nearly passed out in his seat. His assumptions had been right. Tobias was doing this and he wasn't going to stop.

"Albin– who actually goes by Linton, his middle name– Rubino changed a lot for me over these past few months. Within that time, I picked on him relentlessly during AP calc and I danced with him to Whitney Houston in gym class. After that, I started thinking about him in ways that I shouldn't have." Tobias was still smirking even though he noticed some people beginning to catch on to what he was saying. "I started having feelings for him. Real feelings. I thought about him more than I thought about myself. I started taking his feelings into consideration because I didn't want to make him feel like shit. He made me compassionate and empathetic, and I can't believe someone finally did that for me. I guess I shouldn't have stuck around my 'friends' who didn't give a shit about anyone besides themselves because fuck, let me tell you– Linton has showed me a whole new world full of emotion and sincerity, and I love it. I don't know what I'd do without him."

Linton was smiling and blushing like crazy. Of course they were being stared down, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Tobias was talking about him in ways that he never had and it was in front of people. Fuck, it was at their goddamn _graduation._

"I know this school isn't accepting of people who aren't straight, but it's graduation. I don't care." Tobias turned to Linton and pointed at him, a smile beaming on his face. "This man. This amazingly talented art student right here is my boyfriend. And god, I fucking love him. I love him."

Linton didn't care where they were and he didn't care who was watching. He had been yearning for Tobias to say those words for what felt like forever and now he had. His heart was pounding as he stood up and went over to Tobias, cupping his cheeks in his hands to press a long kiss to his lips.

Despite the gasping and the quiet protests in the crowd, Tobias kissed him back and wrapped his arms around him. He didn't care either. He loved Linton. He loved everything that that boy was and he knew that he'd never forget him. How could he? He was his first real love.

The kiss went on for a few more seconds until someone threw something up onstage and it hit their feet. They jerked away from one another just before more caps could be thrown at them from their classmates of all people.

"They hate us," Linton said. Tobias shot him a worried look since he thought that he was upset, but that look quickly turned to one of amusement and happiness when he heard Linton laughing. "They fucking hate us, oh my god!"

"They hate us!" Tobias repeated, "God, they hate us!"

Linton laughed again just before a cap hit him in the side. It didn't hurt since it was a light little thing, but it did tell Tobias that they needed to get off stage before things got worse. That was the last thing that he wanted to do, but he didn't want to put Linton in danger.

Dragging Linton behind him as he stood at the podium, he grabbed the microphone, facing everyone head on despite how pissed off and fed up they looked that Tobias had ruined their graduation ceremony. Anyone else would've felt bad, but he didn't. He felt good. Better than ever.

"I'm Tobias Forge and I'm gay! Happy graduation, class of 1999!"

Before anything else could happen to them, Tobias dragged Linton off stage after snatching their diplomas. Both of them were laughing and smiling despite how loud the crowd had gotten. They were furious with them, but neither of them cared. They were out and they were done with high school.

All they had to worry about then was what they were going to do once Tobias went off to college in the fall.

In the crowd sat Simon. He wasn't angry. He was one of the only ones who wasn't upset by what Tobias had said.

"That was nice," Simon said genuinely as he turned to the people sitting beside him. They didn't seem to care much either. "Don't you think so?"

"I think so," the boy to his other side commented.

Turning to him, Simon looked him over and smiled. "I'm glad you do. What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Martin," he said with a small smile. He had a scar on his upper lip and Simon couldn't stop staring at it. He didn't mind it. He thought it was neat. "What's yours?"

"I'm Simon," he said.

A silence fell over them for a moment before Simon looked him over again.

Martin was cute. A bit on the chubby side, but Simon's built stature would make up for that.

"Once this is said and done, wanna go to my car and make out?" Simon offered. He had never kissed another guy, but he figured he'd try it out. It wouldn't hurt.

Martin went red and cleared his throat. He was nerdy. Simon could tell from his button up under his gown and from the way he positioned his curly hair on his forehead.

"S– Sure," Martin stammered out, "Are... are you gay, too?"

Simon shrugged. "I don't know. I guess you and I will find out, right?"

Martin laughed shyly as Simon smirked and shifted his weight on the seat to be closer to him. Martin didn't seem to mind so Simon set his hand on his thigh.

 _'I might as well,'_ he thought to himself, _'Gay pride graduation 1999.'_

—

The sun was setting and Tobias had parked the car at the top of a hill. Him and Linton were making out and like always, Linton was getting into everything way too fast. Even though Tobias wanted to take it slow, he was having a hard time doing so. Working the other boy up was his favorite thing to do.

To his surprise, Linton broke the kiss and panted against his lips slightly. Tobias suspected that he wanted to move into the backseat to do more, but what was actually said caught him by surprise.

"I think if you were to move away for a job that I'd move with you," Linton told him through his quiet yet heavy breaths, "I don't want to be without you. And I don't think it'd be so bad for us to live together."

Tobias groaned under his breath then chuckled, his fingers brushing through the other's messy hair. "A little early for that, isn't it?"

"I don't care," Linton breathed out, "I love you. I'd do anything for you."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

Tobias wanted to be a smart ass, but he held back for once. This was a serious moment.

He wasn't opposed to Linton moving with him. Actually, he had thought about it, but didn't bring it up in fear of sounding clingy. Apparently Linton wasn't worried about that, but Tobias didn't care. It showed that Linton was better at admitting feelings than he was.

"If I go," Tobias whispered, "I'd take you with me. I'd take you everything with me."

Linton blushed faintly and smiled. He loved it when Tobias would say things like that. Now that he was becoming more vocal about how he felt, Linton wanted to hear more and more of it. Tobias was adorable when he admitted how he felt.

Linton was in love with the feeling of being in love with Tobias.

Leaning over, Tobias turned up the radio then nudged his nose with Linton's. "Sorry, I like this song."

For a moment, Linton stayed quiet to hear it. Once he recognized what song it was, he chuckled and shook his head. "You and your damn punk bands."

"I know, I know. Me and my damn punk bands. This song is good, though. 'Surrender.'"

"I know. You're cute."

"Says you."

Their eyes met and neither of them could help but smile. They made each other happier than anyone else ever would. Though they were young, they knew that something like this was special. If they weren't meant to stay in love forever then they were definitely meant to stay around each other until death tore them apart. They knew that and they were fine with it.

_...Mommy's all right, daddy's all right, they just seem a little weird..._

Tobias began leaning in as the chorus began and Linton teasingly moved away. That caused him to chuckle then cup Linton's jaw to keep him where he was.

"Kiss me," Tobias whispered.

Linton's eyes twinkled as he smiled, not saying a single thing as his hand came up and guided Tobias's lips to his.

_...Surrender, surrender..._

The kiss was passionate, but lacking heat. They didn't care to add heat to it, though. What mattered to them was that they were kissing as the sun shone into the car and illuminated half of their faces while the other half remained shadowed. It was a perfect moment. The best ending to an eventful year.

Tobias allowed his hand to move to Linton's neck where he then brushed his thumb along his jawline. Linton grinned against his lips and moved closer to him as he gave in to the urge to be near him. That happened more often than not, but that wasn't a bad thing.

As Tobias broke the kiss, he breathed softly against Linton's lips with a smile quickly forming. Linton didn't have to open his eyes to know that his boyfriend was grinning.

_...But when I woke up, Mom and Dad are rolling on the couch rolling numbers, rock and rollin', got my KISS records out..._

"I've got KISS records," Tobias mumbled to him.

"I know you do," Linton mumbled back, "The only kiss I'm interested in right now though is yours."

Tobias rolled his eyes from the cheesy play on words, but kissed Linton nonetheless as the chorus played one last time.

This was it. This was the moment that he'd remember for years and years to come. No one would ever make him feel as good as Linton did and he was alright with that. He wasn't sure that he'd ever want to run into someone like Linton again.

He was a once in a lifetime type of person and letting him go wasn't a part of his plan.

_...Don't give yourself away..._

Lips ran along lips in the car as the sun continued to set, dimming the car and the area around it. Neither of them noticed. Their hearts were beating too fast and they were too caught up in how the other felt against them.

Linton loved Tobias and Tobias loved Linton. That's all there was to it and that's how it'd always be, no matter what.

_...Surrender, surrender..._


End file.
